South Park (Photo credit: Paul Hayday)
This sprinkling of snow has sent us dashing to the shed to dig out the sledges. Where to head through? Here’s our hotspots on a cold, snowy day:
South Park
THE sledging hotspot – you will find everyone you have ever met in Oxford here! I’ve seen it all in South Park: sledging, snowboarding and even skiing! For the thrill seekers you can get quite some speed up sledging down steep parts of the hill, but if an adrenaline rush isn’t what you are after then stick to the smaller slopes, or, head to Headington Hill park across the road for some slow snow on a more gentle gradient.
Shotover Park
With a name deriving from the Old English, scoet ofer, meaning “steep slope”, you know you are in the right place at Shotover for some sledging action – it’s also 170m above sea level. Park up in the Old Road car park next to the hill overlooking South Oxfordshire – follow the crowds and get ready for a thrilling ride. It’s worth venturing into the park too as the undulating landscape within offers more sledging opportunities.
Boars Hill
Boars Hill made it into the Guardian’s list of best places to sledge in Britain due to its ‘gliding greatness.’ You may also remember some Oxford police officers landing in hot water a few years ago after being filmed sledging down the hill on riot shields! The snow brings out the kid in all of us, don’t forget to jump on-board too. As with all of these sledging hotspots, stop and take in the views from the top.
Blenheim Palace
The grounds of Blenheim are always awash with exuberant sledgers when the snow falls! The place to be is the hill near the back gate, right by Woodstock entrance on Park Street, where scores of children and adults whizz down the hill with screams of delight. Don’t limit yourself to this spot though, Coombe gate will lead you to a multitude of grassy hills to slide down too, some pretty steep!
Wittenham Clumps
Everyone has been up the Clumps…but have you been down on a sledge? This is a QUICK one as the hill is steep and high – over 300 foot tall – but the thrill seekers love it. You can take in views of Oxfordshire and Berkshire from the top so don’t forget to catch a breath and marvel at the views. The Clumps are the most highly visited free to access greenspace in the region so expect this to be a popular spot!
Brill Windmill
Just a quick hop over the border into Bucks but worth it! Perched on a hill with sweeping countryside views, it’s wide, steep slopes make this a sledging gem in winter. And really, can you get a more beautiful backdrop on a snowy day than Brill Windmill?!
Brill Windmill (Photo credit: Sally Waldrop)
